To my wife who encouraged me, my family who supported me, my church who was patient, my son who gave the emergency in time, my cats who caused a lot. I am grateful to all the faculty, librarians, and staff at SBTS who contributed to the completion of this project. The library and writing center staff were especially helpful and kind throughout the pandemic and my absence from campus.
My Gravel Hill Baptist Church has been very kind and patient with me in these past years of writing. My mother was an endless well of encouragement and my father's continued interest as my first reader was extremely motivating. My lovely wife Krystal deserves as much or more credit for this project as I do.
I have all the above individuals and many others to thank for my growth as a researcher, scholar and person. I pray that one day someone like me will find this project in their library and find it as helpful as I found all the resources listed in this study.
INTRODUCTION
Her literary approach to the text allows for insightful observation of the author's narrative and purpose. I will then provide a conclusion to the narrative of the text and its reliability for reconstructing the events recorded in Daniel. In any case, many people felt that such thinking was a legitimate reading of the text.
Any position in the date within this window would not meaningfully affect the interpretation of the text. See Amélie Kuhrt, "Cylindr Cyrus and Achaemenid Imperial Policy", Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 8, no. As a result, we can have considerable confidence in the original structure of the text from what is preserved.
Anderson assumes too much positivity from the text when its portrayal of the Persian leader is largely neutral. It is certainly an outlier, but does not call into question the authenticity of the inscription. Duane Garrett has proposed a plausible explanation that addresses many of the inconsistencies in the sources.
Furthermore, it seems hasty to determine the purpose of the inscription based on the number of copies discovered.
PERSIAN SOURCES
The beginnings of the empire are generally dated to Cyrus' defeat of the Medes around 550 BC, although it was through Cyrus' later victories that it became a true empire. Herodotus and Xenophon both noted multiple and conflicting traditions for Cyrus' origins and early years.4 For example, Herodotus presents him as a vassal who overthrows a master while the. Babylonian sources speak of one state conquering another.5 Whatever the process and means of his rise, Cyrus' empire eventually dominated the ancient world.
However, I have placed him here to help draw attention to my best guess at Cyrus' earliest conquests and consolidation of power. There is obviously speculation in this theory, but two details lend weight to its plausibility: (1) Cyrus's styling of himself as Astyages' successor and (2) sources that refer to a Medo-Persian empire. He had already played a role in the administration of Babylon on behalf of his father after its conquest in 539.9 After his accession, Cambyses turned against the last great power in the ancient Middle East: Egypt.
Later, they conquered the Egyptian capital of Memphis and became the only power in the ancient Near East.10 After success, Cambyses tried to expand further west and south. He then returned to Persia after some unsuccessful campaigns when he died in 522, plunging the empire into instability. The Persian Empire reached its peak under Darius I and stretched from the Indus to the Balkans.11 Before this expansion, however, Darius had to secure the throne.
After Cambyses' death, the throne went to his brother Bardiya, whom Darius claimed was an impostor named Guamata named Guamata.12 Darius conspired with others to kill the king. 6 Pierre Briant, "History of the Persian Empire 550–330 BC," in Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia, ed. Dandamaev notes that the Near East had four major kingdoms in the early years of Cyrus: Media, Lydia, Babylonia, and Egypt.
The leading Persian figures found in the sources for understanding Daniel are as follows: Cyrus II, Cambyses II, Astyages,17 and Darius the Mede. All of these rulers either appear directly in Daniel's narrative or have a meaningful impact on the understanding of Daniel's context. Cyrus is a man whose stature rivals and perhaps even surpasses that of Nebuchadnezzar.18 Unfortunately, the details of his early years are sketchy.
Cyrus is a man whose stature rivals and perhaps even surpasses that of Nebuchadnezzar. 18 Unfortunately, the details surrounding his early years are
GREEK HISTORIANS
He remains one of the most discussed ancient authors with scholars constantly researching his work. This dual function is probably part of the reason for differences in interpretations of Herodotus' work. One common view of Herodotus is that he is a reliable historian and a pillar of the development of modern historiography.
However, Romm suggests that such an interpretation reads too much of the future in Herodotus' work. 115 François Hartog, The Mirror of Herodotus: The Representation of the Other in the Writing of History, transl. He says that the citizens of central Babylon were unaware of the conquest.
161 Eckard Lefèvre, “The Question of the ΒΙΟΣ ΕΥΔΑΙΜΩΝ: The Meeting between Cyrus and Croesus in Xenophon,” in Xenophon, ed. Doty have an excellent discussion of manuscript evidence in the introduction to their critical edition. This view gains further support by Alexander's apparent use of the Cyropaedia in his imperial campaign shortly after Xenophon's writing.
While Xenophon's Cyrus is indeed flawed, it is wrong to emphasize those flaws as the central didactic theme of the Cyropaedia. First, making a connection between the Cyropaedia and the earliest Hellenistic novels still does not answer the question of the nature of the work. The primary purpose of the Cyropaedia is Xenophon's presentation of Cyrus as a model to be followed by other leaders.
These sections dominate Xenophon's account and reveal the didactic and philosophical core of the Cyropaedia. Herodotus' account of the Median takeover and Xenophon's account of the Median dowry can be partially reconciled with some assumptions. Walton, "The Decree of Darius the Mede in Daniel 6," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 31, no.
CONCLUSION